There three broad, over-arching themes/ideas: Native People, Exploration, and Colonization. This time period emphasizes history, geography, and economic ideals.
USHG ERA 1 – Beginnings to 1620 U1.1 American Indian Life in the Americas
Describe the life of peoples living in North America before European exploration.
5 – U1.1.1 Use maps to locate peoples in the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations
of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River (Eastern Woodland).
(National Geography Standard 1, p. 144)
5 – U1.1.2 Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest adapted to
or modified the environment. (National Geography Standard 14, p. 171)
5 – U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with respect to governmental and family
structures, trade, and views on property ownership and land use.
(National Geography Standard 11, p. 164, C, E) U1.2 European Exploration
Identify the causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization.
5 – U1.2.1 Explain the technological (e.g., invention of the astrolabe and improved maps), and political
developments, (e.g., rise of nation-states), that made sea exploration possible.
(National Geography Standard 1, p. 144, C)
5 – U1.2.2 Use case studies of individual explorers and stories of life in Europe to compare the goals,
obstacles, motivations, and consequences for European exploration and colonization of the
Americas (e.g., economic, political, cultural, and religious). European Colonial Expansion
(National Geography Standard 13, p. 169, C, E) U1.3 African Life Before the 16th Century
Describe the lives of peoples living in western Africa prior to the 16th century.
5 – U1.3.1 Use maps to locate the major regions of Africa (northern Africa, western Africa, central Africa,
eastern Africa, southern Africa). (National Geography Standard 1, p. 144)
5 – U1.3.2 Describe the life and cultural development of people living in western Africa before the 16th
century with respect to economic (the ways people made a living) and family structures, and the
growth of states, towns, and trade. (National Geography Standard 10, p. 162) U1.4 World Interactions
Describe the environmental, political, and cultural consequences of the interactions among European, African, and
American Indian peoples in the late 15th through the 17th century.
5 – U1.4.1 Describe the convergence of Europeans, American Indians and Africans in North America after
1492 from the perspective of these three groups. (National Geography Standard 10, p. 162)
5 – U1.4.2 Use primary and secondary sources (e.g., letters, diaries, maps, documents, narratives, pictures,
graphic data) to compare Europeans and American Indians who converged in the western
hemisphere after 1492 with respect to governmental structure, and views on property
ownership and land use. (National Geography Standard 12, p. 167, C, E)
5 – U1.4.3 Explain the impact of European contact on American Indian cultures by comparing the different
approaches used by the British and French in their interactions with American Indians.
(National Geography Standard 10, p. 162, C, E)
5 – U1.4.4 Describe the Columbian Exchange and its impact on Europeans, American Indians, and Africans. USHG ERA 2 – Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763) 2.1 Struggle for Control of North America
2.2 European Slave Trade and Slavery in Colonial America 2.3 Life in Colonial America
USHG ERA 1 – Beginnings to 1620
U1.1 American Indian Life in the Americas
Describe the life of peoples living in North America before European exploration.
5 – U1.1.1 Use maps to locate peoples in the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations
of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River (Eastern Woodland).
(National Geography Standard 1, p. 144)
5 – U1.1.2 Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest adapted to
or modified the environment. (National Geography Standard 14, p. 171)
5 – U1.1.3 Describe Eastern Woodland American Indian life with respect to governmental and family
structures, trade, and views on property ownership and land use.
(National Geography Standard 11, p. 164, C, E)
U1.2 European Exploration
Identify the causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization.
5 – U1.2.1 Explain the technological (e.g., invention of the astrolabe and improved maps), and political
developments, (e.g., rise of nation-states), that made sea exploration possible.
(National Geography Standard 1, p. 144, C)
5 – U1.2.2 Use case studies of individual explorers and stories of life in Europe to compare the goals,
obstacles, motivations, and consequences for European exploration and colonization of the
Americas (e.g., economic, political, cultural, and religious).
European Colonial Expansion
(National Geography Standard 13, p. 169, C, E)
U1.3 African Life Before the 16th Century
Describe the lives of peoples living in western Africa prior to the 16th century.
5 – U1.3.1 Use maps to locate the major regions of Africa (northern Africa, western Africa, central Africa,
eastern Africa, southern Africa). (National Geography Standard 1, p. 144)
5 – U1.3.2 Describe the life and cultural development of people living in western Africa before the 16th
century with respect to economic (the ways people made a living) and family structures, and the
growth of states, towns, and trade. (National Geography Standard 10, p. 162)
U1.4 World Interactions
Describe the environmental, political, and cultural consequences of the interactions among European, African, and
American Indian peoples in the late 15th through the 17th century.
5 – U1.4.1 Describe the convergence of Europeans, American Indians and Africans in North America after
1492 from the perspective of these three groups. (National Geography Standard 10, p. 162)
5 – U1.4.2 Use primary and secondary sources (e.g., letters, diaries, maps, documents, narratives, pictures,
graphic data) to compare Europeans and American Indians who converged in the western
hemisphere after 1492 with respect to governmental structure, and views on property
ownership and land use. (National Geography Standard 12, p. 167, C, E)
5 – U1.4.3 Explain the impact of European contact on American Indian cultures by comparing the different
approaches used by the British and French in their interactions with American Indians.
(National Geography Standard 10, p. 162, C, E)
5 – U1.4.4 Describe the Columbian Exchange and its impact on Europeans, American Indians, and Africans.
USHG ERA 2 – Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
2.1 Struggle for Control of North America
2.2 European Slave Trade and Slavery in Colonial America
2.3 Life in Colonial America